Carly Smithson
Without You
The big temptation when doing Mariah Week would be to sing the bejesus out of this song, but Carly—uncharacteristically—restrains herself. What could have been a vocal artillery barrage ends up being a sweet, pretty reading of the song. The judges don't seem to agree, though, especially Simon, and it'll be ironic if Carly ends up in trouble this week because she dialed down her demon-eyed power-ballad intensity for once.
— by James Poniewozik